Don’t give them bail, state says as six appear in court over hit on whistle-blower Babita Deokaran

The state does not want the six men accused of killing Gauteng health whistle-blower Babita Deokaran to get bail.

The bail application of six accused of killing Deokaran continued in the Johannesburg magistrate’s court on Friday.

Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Phinda Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Siphakanyiswa Dladla were back in the dock.

State prosecutor advocate Steve Rubin read out in court an affidavit filed by an investigating officer in which he argued that, among other things, d that the kingpin and masterminds who ordered the hit were still at large and might try to kill the accused.

The state said releasing the six on bail could also disrupt public order.

It was further argued that four of the six accused have no ties with the place of residence where they were arrested because they arrived there three weeks before they were nabbed.

“They have no furniture or anything at that residence and they failed to provide the court with their addresses in KwaZulu-Natal. Should they abscond, we will not know where to find them,” read the affidavit by one of the investigating officers.

The state said the accused allegedly received significant payments for the hit, money they could use to start new lives if released on bail.

The investigating officer said investigations also revealed that Deokaran’s murder was politically motivated.

The state said it found photos of Deokaran’s residence and her vehicle on Mazibuko’s phone.

Earlier, Mazibuko in an affidavit in support of his bail application, said he was a Bolt driver and usually had clients in the south of Johannesburg. He said he was looking for a new place to live and took photos of places he found interesting.

The state, however, dismissed this.

Citing Mazibuko’s affidavit, it said his monthly income was R10,000 and he gave his grandmother and child R4,500 of that, leaving him with R5,500 disposable income.

“There is no way that income can allow him to rent the place he had taken photos of. Those photos were taken on his scout mission,” the investigating officer said in his affidavit read out by Rubin.

The state dismissed claims by the accused that they were assaulted. The state said it was confusing that the allegations were made by the six in the dock, but the seventh person arrested with them has never made such allegations. The state said it will ventilate more on this allegation during the trial.

The state has concluded its response to the bail application of the six.

The case was postponed for further bail application hearings on November 19.

Earlier, legal representatives for Dladla and Mazibuko read their affidavits in court and gave reasons why they should be released on bail.

On Tuesday, during the bail application, Hadebe dropped a bombshell in his affidavit, alleging he was tortured by police into confessing that a hit on Deokaran was ordered by former health minister Zweli Mkhize.

Mkhize responded by issuing a statement saying he was shocked that his “name had been dragged into the case of the men arrested in connection with the murder”.

He instructed his lawyers to write to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) “to investigate the circumstances surrounding the extraction and acceptance into evidence of the reported ‘confession’, whose value could only have been to cause him political embarrassment”.

On Friday, Mazibuko accused police of assaulting him and said he gave a confession about killing Deokaran under duress.

“Police were threatening to kill me and forced me to confess to my involvement in the killing. I agreed,” defence advocate Peter Wilkins said when he read Mazibuko’s affidavit in support of his bail application.

In his affidavit, Mazibuko said police told him he was the mastermind of the murder and “he must show them where the guns used in the killing were, and R400,000”.

He said he could not do this because he knew nothing about the murder.

Dladla echoed his claim on Friday, accusing the police of brutality.

He alleged he was assaulted with rifles by about 20 police officers, mostly white males.

Dladla, who resides in Rosettenville, told the court he had stayed at the address for about five months before his arrest. The 25-year-old said he was originally from KwaZulu-Natal and was a taxi owner and patroller in Kempton Park.

He denied any involvement in the murder and maintained he had made a confession under duress.

“I have no link with the offences and have no knowledge and was not involved in the killing of the deceased,” read his affidavit.

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